While New Orleans is preparing to welcome the Super Bowl Lix on Sunday, February 9, we met New Orleans and the President and Chief Executive Officer Meetings and Trade Fair.
After tragic events on New Year’s Day, the New Orleans & Co. management team, the destination marketing organization for the city, addressed the event industry during the session General opening at PCMA Convent leaders, the annual conference for business events held Jan.
At 3:15 am, the CST on January 1, 2025, a man led a van in a crowd on rue Bourbon in the French district of New Orleans. He left the truck and engaged in a shooting with the police before being deadly. Fifteen people were killed, including the attacker, and at least 57 others were injured, including two police officers who were slaughtered, according to the Associated Press.
“New Orleans is far too special in a place for its light to be attenuated by the act of a terrorist,” said Leger. The resilience of the community testifies to their minds, the city gathering together both difficult and festive.
Read four strengths of our conversation or look at the full interview here.
1. Excitement is built for upcoming events
New Orleans is preparing for major events such as the Super Bowl, which Leger described as “a special moment to have an event like this”. With the hospitality and exceptional infrastructure of the city, with 26,000 hotel rooms in the city center and key places like the French district, Superdome and Ernest N. Morial Convention Center all ideally located, New Orleans is more that ready to welcome its 11th Super Bowl.
For Turner, the preparation involves more than the Super Bowl. She underlined the continuous commitment to excellence in the organization of a wide range of meetings and conventions. “Our team alone commits 1,000 meetings per year,” said Turner, stressing the city’s ability and enthusiasm for adaptation to events of all sizes, the National Automobile Dealers Association to medical meetings and beyond.
“In 2024, out of the 250 largest meetings running in the United States, we were third,” said Turner.
2. The durability occupies the front of the scene
A key trend in the meeting and conventions sector is sustainability, and New Orleans is at the forefront. The Congress Center, modernized to be certified Gold Leed, testifies to the city’s commitment. Sustainable and restoring it are the main priorities for event organizers, said Turner.
3. Connect to authenticity
Leger has addressed the authenticity that New Orleans naturally offers, which has become more and more precious in the event industry today. “There are a lot of discussion on authenticity,” he said. “We don’t really know how not authentic. With music and food and other things that bring people together in our community, that’s how we live our lives there. This authenticity allows visitors to effortlessly integrate their themes into the rich culture of New Orleans, improving the overall experience of their events, he added.
4. Looking towards the future
New Orleans continues to evolve with new exciting developments, such as the long-awaited OMNI hotel, a new convention hotel which should inaugurate in 2025, and the vast renovations of the Center and Superdome Convention.
“A hotel like this at the Convention Center is long to come and the whole community really gathers and the development of more than a billion dollars in the river district, which is right next to the Congress Center”, said Leger. “The renovation of nearly $ 550 million from the Congress Center itself is underway during the next two years.”
In this city, each meeting is treated with the same importance and the same treatments as a Super Bowl, said Leger. “We really try to stay focused on delivery in a coherent manner throughout the year and the year,” he said.
Main image: Scenes from the outside of New Orleans Superdome on Monday, February 3. Photo: Catherine Koppel